Northerner heading South in January (recap)

[Rawmeat]

Hi, I am planning an archery Mule deer focused (not opposed to Coues) hunt in AZ in January. I have been scouring maps and reading a lot over the past week trying to get my head wrapped around what to expect and where to hunt. I think I have looked at too much and am getting analysis paralysis. I am looking for some insight to make sure I am on the right track. I came here because this group sounds knowledgeable about AZ and helpful.

I live in North Dakota and have been hunting on and off for 19 years, but have spent a lot more time hunting in the past few years. I only started archery hunting a year ago and have yet to kill anything besides rabbits and grouse with my bow. I got into archery hunting to extend my seasons and open more opportunity for hunts. The AZ January otc hunts are a perfect example. I am willing to drive 23 hours to hunt because I figured it was a good time to get away from our sub zero temps and hone my skills.

I would be hunting Jan. 7th-16th. Here is what I am looking for in the AZ Mule deer hunt. I want to be able to hike and glass, and spot and stalk. So does everyone else, right? This is probably the most important thing to me along with deer population. I am after opportunity so I can gain experience. Size is pretty meaningless to me at this point. If there is potential for anything close to 150", that sounds good to me.

I am looking at SE and Central AZ. These units all seem similar, yet very different. They all look to have some high mountain ranges with thick timber, surrounded by foot hills and canyons with thinner vegetation. These are the areas I am focusing on, places with enough elevation change to find good glassing spots, yet not such thick vegetation that I am just staring at entire hill side covered in trees. Looking at GE I have found plenty of area that fits this criteria, though having never stepped foot in AZ I am left wondering about weather, roads, water, and deer populations in these areas.

I have read through the AZGFD "where to hunt" on the units I am interested in and it was very helpful. I am going to ask specific questions about some units and areas to see if I am on the right track with my thinking. I will apply these thoughts to different areas in similar situations. You don't need to give me the info on these specific areas if it is bad taste.

Looking at unit 27. I see a lot of conflicting statements about the weather. Cold doesn't bother me at all, but I do worry about going in on a FS road and being snowed in. I know with weather nothing is certain, but can this generally be avoided if I stay below the rim in that 6500' range? Or is it drive in if you can, just make sure and get out if the weather goes bad? I am also assuming that 191 stays open all year? It sounds like this unit holds plenty of Mule deer, but it doesn't look like there are many roads. I have no problem hiking a couple miles off the road to day hunt, but with the lack of roads I worry everyone ends up hunting the same areas. I wouldn't mind packing in for 4-5 days, but I worry about finding a water source. What is your experience, is everyone hunting along the main 2-3 roads in this area?

Looking at units 22 and 23. It looks like there is plenty of landscape in these units that fits my wants for hiking and glassing. Also looks like the right elevations to avoid bad snow storms? Also looks like plenty of roads to spread out hunters, while still having the ability to hike away from traffic. But everything I read says the Mule deer population is low and declining. I am not really sure how to take this. Is it low compared to what it used to be, or lower than other units in the state?

Looking at units 32 and 33. They seem to fit my landscape and weather ideals like 22 and 23 along with good deer numbers. But it sounds like there is access issues through some of the private land to get to public. I had already been looking at areas to hunt on the map, only to read later that some of the roads are closed off. I really don't want to do a lot of e-scouting only to get there and realize that I can't even get to the area I was looking at. Looking at GE it also looks like a lot of the good hunting areas have atv trails down every drain and across every other ridge. I don't have an atv. I would find it very annoying to hike in and be glassing to suddenly have atv's driving through the bottoms around me. Is this a problem in January?

Can anyone explain the drastic difference in late season otc archery success rate? For instance unit 29 claims 25% success, while unit 22 has 7%, yet 23 has 16%? I am not understanding that. The only thing I could figure is that a lot more people are buying tags for a unit like 22, but not hunting as much? I don't know.

I know at some point I just need to pick a unit, make plans A-H and just go and learn. Things always change when you get boots on the ground and these hunts rarely go as you have them planned in your head. Being 23 hours away I am only trying to get as much info as I can so I can make efficient use of my time when I get there. Good or bad (no such thing really) I will be back here to let you guys know how things went. 

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[452b264]

If I was in your shoes I would hunt 27, If the 191 gets snowed in you just go south, you cant get trapped in the high country. You will most likely be hunting below the rim anyways.

[oz31p]

There are some outfitters that hit 29 hard 

[muledeerarea33?]

You can try a little bit of all of those units this coming January and focus on the one/ones you like for the year after. All while still having some chance at killing a deer. I do believe a few miles hike in unit 27 will be totally different than North Dakota due to terrain. Weather is not predictable, just be ready to hit the highway quick if it gets bad.

[bigorange]

I’d personally head further south...33 or any of the border units. I’m a little biased living in Tucson though. Desert mulies rutting in January are a blast. 

[dustin25]

I doubt those success rates are accurate, my guess would be much lower... 

[Rawmeat]

2 hours ago, muledeerarea33? said:

You can try a little bit of all of those units this coming January and focus on the one/ones you like for the year after. All while still having some chance at killing a deer. I do believe a few miles hike in unit 27 will be totally different than North Dakota due to terrain. Weather is not predictable, just be ready to hit the highway quick if it gets bad.

Not a terrible idea, Although with a full day drive on each end of the hunt I am not sure how much driving around I want to do day to day. Also not sure if two days would really be enough to get a feel for the unit anyway.

I understand it is rougher terrain. We do have steep canyons in the badlands of ND, but they aren't near as deep. I do spend time hiking and hunting in the mountains of Montana though.

[Rawmeat]

2 hours ago, bigorange said:

I’d personally head further south...33 or any of the border units. I’m a little biased living in Tucson though. Desert mulies rutting in January are a blast. 

Yeah, there are so many areas I admittedly did not spend time looking at all of them. How would the desert muley hunt differ from a hunt below the rim in 27? Are the desert areas basically much flatter with less vegetation? Is most of it too flat to glass effectively? I am definitely not against hiking around in more forgiving terrain.

[PRDATR]

Mule Deer and Coues  areas overlap in many units and it is not uncommon to see them on the same hill together.

[bigorange]

21 hours ago, Rawmeat said:

Yeah, there are so many areas I admittedly did not spend time looking at all of them. How would the desert muley hunt differ from a hunt below the rim in 27? Are the desert areas basically much flatter with less vegetation? Is most of it too flat to glass effectively? I am definitely not against hiking around in more forgiving terrain.

I’m not terribly familiar with 27 below the rim. Most of 27 I’ve hunted is up higher. Lots of opportunities for glassing in the desert areas. Definitely not too flat. I haven’t hunted mulies much outside the southern units besides Kaibab, but when they’re rutting in the desert they’re very glassable and lots of fun to spot n stalk. 

[bigorange]

Depending on the areas there can be a lot of vegetation too, just different vegetation than what you see up higher. A lot more scrub trees, brush, and cacti/ocotillos. 

[trphyhntr]

how did you find late otc archery success odds? theres no way any unit has 25% success archery 

[Flatlander]

Unit 28 is a pretty sweet January hunt with lots of deer and pretty easy terrain. You could jump around between 27/28/31 pretty easily. Get a pig tag for some easier stalking if you get frustrated.

Also, expect low success. The way AZGFD interpolates success rates on archery tags is far from reliable.

[Rawmeat]

38 minutes ago, trphyhntr said:

how did you find late otc archery success odds? theres no way any unit has 25% success archery 

That is what I thought. I got those numbers from Gohunt. I should email them and ask how they get their info.

[Camo]

I am guessing its from the stats on the AZGFD website: